8/30/10: "R and R"

Recent road trips to Yuma, Prescott, and the West Valley remind me how my favorite type of R and R, Re-use and Restoration, can work magic for Arizona waterways and communities when collaborations take root and grow.

Yuma Salt Works and Wetlands

I recently visited one of the nation's largest desalination facilities, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Plant, in Yuma along the Colorado River and the U.S.-Mexico border. Jennifer McCloskey, the Yuma area office manager, and Angela Adams, the plant's science and technology guru, gave us a briefing and tour of the Desalting Plant, which began a one-year pilot project in May treating 30 million gallons a day, one-third of the plant's capacity. The high-tech effort is all about using membranes to desalt and reclaim the water and then put it to good use in the U.S. to help meet the region's needs, while respecting commitments to Mexico.

But there's more to the Yuma picture than reclaiming and reusing water. The city is restoring wetlands with vigor, too. Charles Flynn, executive director of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Corp., and his wide band of supporters are uniting business, agricultural, civic, and governmental interests to boost habitat along the Colorado. Charles described how the Yuma East Wetlands project, led by a partnership of the Quechan Indian Tribe and city of Yuma that began in 2004, has restored nearly 350 acres. By improving and maintaining river habitat and providing public access and recreational opportunities, they're renewing community interest in the city's greatest liquid asset. They've also been able to win the trust of wastewater regulators, such as ADEQ, to allow the discharge of effluent when it has net ecological benefits.

Their Yuma East Wetlands project has a special, new connection to ADEQ. A total of $20,000 from our 2010 enforcement settlement with Far West Water and Sewer, Inc. for wastewater violations will be used to carry out a supplemental environmental project as part of the wetlands work, specifically helping with a water efficient irrigation system, tree planting, and with signage for onsite public education.

We also drove to nearby Paradise Cove and the Figueroa wastewater treatment plant. Perhaps in the future treated effluent will be dedicated and directed to a nearby wetland area for further cleaning and polishing, which, if done right, can save money and help put nature's amazing cleaning machines to work to reduce pollution to the river.

Prescott Watersheds

While water is one of Prescott's "world class" assets, some of it is "impaired" under Clean Water Act standards so local leaders are developing strategies to reduce threats and increase public awareness.

Mayor Marlin Kuykendall, Councilmen Jim Lamerson and Steve Blair, Prescott Regional Programs Director Craig McConnell, and Michael Byrd, executive director of Prescott Creeks Preservation Association, briefed us on the range of issues, from soup to nuts, as well as septics to nutrients. The mayor and his community-based team discussed sustainable funding and public support to ensure Granite Creek, Watson Lake and other crown jewels in the watershed are protected and nutrient pollution from septics and other sources reduced.

A highlight of my trip: touring Watson Woods Riparian Preserve, a 125-acre oasis for wildlife and humans, with Michael and board members of the Prescott Creeks group. It is one of the state's impressive watershed organizations and is restoring riparian habitat and wetlands upstream of Watson Lake to filter stormwater runoff, protect wildlife, cottonwoods and willows, and build public support for a cleaner, healthier environment.

Valley Riverbeds and Airsheds

The R and R theme is alive and well in Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun too. The Phoenix metropolitan area continues to win national recognition for its re-use of wastewater from area communities to cool the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, save fresh water supplies, and support a cleaner, carbon-free fuel for our electric needs.

Some of Maricopa County's most significant steps for cleaner, healthier air are also connected to water and riverbeds. Just ask Karen Peters or Phil McNeely of the city of Phoenix. They're involved in a major effort to restore riparian habitat along the Rio Salado. And it's not just about improving habitat or reducing urban heat island effects: It's about dust, one of the region's most significant challenges.

The proposed Rio Salado Oeste project, which complements other wetland works, would improve 8 miles of habitat between 19th and 83rd Avenues over a 10-year period. It will help control particulate matter, a particularly vexing problem in the Valley of the Sun, especially at the "infamous" West 43rd Avenue monitor which records air quality problems. You need water and teamwork to reduce dust.

Smart growth planning helps too, particularly upfront. Leaders must ask whether it makes sense to build in a given location and whether desert conditions make the water, energy, and air pollution costs unaffordable and unsustainable down the proverbial long and dusty road.

    -- Ben

08/11/10: "Cap and Fade?"

Over the last two weeks, we've seen two major environmental developments on the national scene, one in the Gulf of Mexico and one in the Gulf of Washington, so to speak, and both are relevant to Arizonans. One underscores the need for long-term restoration through sound science and accountability and the other underscores the need for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction through cooperation and collaboration.

Capping but not Fading

Early August brought some good news finally for BP, the Gulf, and the nation: The spewing well at the bottom of the sea was finally, mercifully capped. The spotlight and debate immediately shifted to the restoration and recovery phases. There was even more good news, at least if you believe the latest statistics: A government report coinciding with the capping touted that 74 percent of the oil was gone, i.e. evaporated, dispersed, biodegraded, and/or skimmed away from the scene of the crime, so to speak.

Citizens and communities injured or insulted by the spill then asked: Does this mean the money, manpower, and federal focus will all fade away?

Hardly. There's still a huge amount of oil in the system and anger in the streets, courthouses, and hearing rooms. This is also the moment when some of the hardest work and legal wrangling begin in earnest, even though some of the cameras and spotlights are turned off. It's like the situation of a train wreck where the moving and exploding parts have finally come to rest. Now, the puzzle pieces must be put together and the painstaking work of natural resource damage assessment, restoration, and "compensatory mitigation" (paying or atoning for the environmental injuries) must be decided. That gets tricky for a whole lot of reasons. For example, how do you "quantify" the damage (such as the intrinsic value of a duck or healthy marsh grass), how long do you keep track of the recovery, and how much flexibility/trading do you allow for supplemental environmental projects or "compensatory mitigation" activities unrelated to the spill itself or outside of the area?

The important and controversial questions about environmental damages can be answered only after scientific, economic, legal, and equitable considerations. As Arizona's natural resource trustee for hazardous spills, I'm watching the next phase of the Gulf process closely. What happens in the wake of the BP disaster and in Congressional debates could shape natural resource damage policy and practice for decades.

Fortunately, the process is alive and well in Arizona. For example, in May 2009, the state participated in a settlement with the copper mining company ASARCO to provide the state with nearly $4 million in claims for restoration and three parcels of land that are ecological treasures for the state and the nation. The protected lands are along Arizona's San Pedro River, which supports nearly two-thirds of the bird population diversity in the U.S.

Capping but not Trading

Our nation's capital has spent the last few years debating important issues surrounding global warming legislation and GHG regulation. Legislators and stakeholders have battled over competing versions of "cap and trade," "cap and dividend," "cap and tax," clean energy and oil spill bills, as well as bills designed to prevent EPA from regulating without clearer direction from Congress. Surprise: The debates and disagreements continue into the fall.

A week before their August recess, Senate leaders announced they were pulling the plug on climate-energy-oil spill legislation, at least for now. Too controversial, too little common ground, too late. Check back in September or November.

In the meantime, states, communities, citizens, and businesses are taking actions to reduce GHGs, advance clean and renewable energy, and grow jobs. Arizona continues to collaborate with its partners in the Western Climate Initiative, which is showing increasing interest in actions and policies beyond cap and trade regulation. Gov. Jan Brewer continues to put a priority on promoting solar and other renewable energy sectors, increasing energy efficiency, and conserving the state's resources.

Cleaning, Greening, Growing

Now that the Deepwater Horizon's hemorrhaging has stopped, the policy work surrounding restoration and recovery will likely grow. Arizona doesn't have in its backyard the environmental catastrophe that still threatens the Gulf states but she needs to continue, if not accelerate, the proactive and pragmatic approach to climate change and clean energy. Greening and growing Arizona's economy makes sense and the lessons from the Gulf should resonate with all of us.

    -- Ben